What's a girl to do when her bosses go to MDSW without her?

Well. While packing and moving me and Jeremy as well as our room mates out of our place at Revere St, I was also assisting Tess' Designer Yarns in getting ready to go down for the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival: photographing Tess in the newest garments; packing yarn, garments, and patterns (and everything else); creating, printing, and laminating signs and garment tags; and of course, knitting. I finished a Falling Water Shrug by Margaret Radcliffe in their newest yarn, Kitten (65% Cashmere, 35% Silk, 100g/410yds per skein):

And I blocked out the most gorgeous cobalt Summit Shawl, also in Kitten, made by another sample knitter:

I've been feeling more comfortable taking photos of Tess in the garments. After all, she is a pro, and her mother, the dyer and owner of TDY, has been photographing her and the yarns for over 25 years. So, I have good coaches. They are patient and encouraging.

I didn't accompany them to MDSW because I had a show in Brattleboro, VT, which had to be rescheduled due to a five-alarm fire which destroyed an historic building in the downtown--the fire happened in late April, but there was a benefit concert for the residents of the 59 apartments that were destroyed, as well as the businesses that called the Brooks House home, on the same night that we were to have had our house concert. We'll be doing the show soon, and I'll post details when we know exactly when.

So, when my bosses are out of town, and I have absolutely no plans for the entire weekend, what is a knitter to do? (You're not really going to dignify that with an answer, right?)

Well, as I was helping pack the last bit of odds and ends into the van headed for MD, my boss put an Addi Knitting Machine in my hands:

I knitted a sample scarf for Knit One, Crochet Too:

On Friday, I went to a show at the Apohadion at which my darling husband played. The evening ended with an exciting theatrical number, which you can watch here.

On Sunday, I started blocking the sample scarf, and I swatched for Estelle...

And here, a week later, I am starting the first sleeve, but my photographer has gone to work for the day, so the photo of me wearing the sweater will have to wait.

On Monday, I went into a frenzy of baking, making a few of my greatest hits: Chocolate Mint-Chip Cookies (from Still Life With Menu by Mollie Katzen), Cheddar-Dill Biscuits (my fave recipe is on epicurious.com), and unsweetened granola with almonds, coconut, and raisins (from The Joy of Cooking).

When I drove up to Knit One, Crochet Too in Windham on Tuesday, I met the owner, Helene, and several of the staff that work there. There's a tiny office space that opens into two large warehouse rooms FULL of yarn and sample garments. Deb, the shipping manager, graciously sent me home with a sample ball of Baby-Boo, their bamboo yarn. I picked a light lavender color that I can't wait to swatch. They do a podcast about the inner workings of a yarn company, from designing yarns to designing garments...it's fascinating. Here's where you can listen to it.

Still more to catch up on, it's been tough tearing myself away from my needles...